


Contentment

by Firefliesonalake



Series: Instance Verse [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Romance, stitches and starry nights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 14:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6614590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firefliesonalake/pseuds/Firefliesonalake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On rare evening off from duty, Obi-wan contemplates stars, sewing and Anakin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Contentment

**Disclaimer: Star wars belongs to Disney and George Lucas. I make no profit from this.**

* * *

 

**Contentment**

The stars are especially bright this evening, luminescent enough to make one pause, and look up to contemplate their beauty and symbolism.

Stars mean different things to different people. To some, stars embody hope, or for the more restless soul, the promise of adventure. To the more scientific, and cynical mind, stars are giant gas bodies.

For Obi-wan stars do not hold any deeper meanings, or connotations, they simply exist as natural phenomena. Splendorous, cosmic entities splayed across the night sky, held together not only by mere gravity, but by the Force.

It provides Obi-wan with a beautiful distraction from the nights chill, and her task at hand, repairing the hem of her well-worn cloak. One might question the wisdom of lingering outside on such a cool night, but feeling the inclination for a reprieve from the never-ending hustle of Jedi going about their business within the temple walls, she had sought out the tranquillity of the temples rooftop meditation gardens.

At night the gardens are a vibrant place, teeming with bioluminescent plant-life, the gentle ripples from the nearby pool, and the chirping of nocturnal insects. It's a beautiful sanctuary, strong with the Living Force - pure and untarnished by the anguish and despair wrought by the casualties of the ongoing war.

She never takes these solitary interludes for granted, after all her comlink could beep at any time. It won't be long now until she's allocated another assignment by the council, and shipped off to the frontlines once more.

Hence why she uses this opportunity to quiet her mind, for peace is in short supply these days. Obi-wan alternates between gazing up at the stars, stitching the frayed hem of her cloak and marvelling at the natural sanctuary in which she dwells.

Utilising her sewing needle, she pulls the thread through the edge of the cloaks hem. The process is slow; Obi-wan is no expert when it comes to sewing garments, but she is component. While there are maintenance droids throughout the temple who are programmed with the sole intention of catering to domestic chores, every Jedi is encouraged to repair their own clothing wherever possible. The idea behind it is to promote humility, and remind Jedi that they are not exempt from mundane tasks, merely because they are hailed as the protectors of the Republic.

Anakin has never quite gotten the knack of stitching. Prodigious when it came to anything mechanical, however set him loose with needle and thread, and he could reap absolute _chaos_.

Obi-wan knew first hand, since she had been the one who had tried to teach him, only for her efforts to result in an absolute disaster. She had left Anakin to his own devices, expecting crooked stiches from his lack of experience, only to discover that he had shed large, gaping holes in his tunic. Anakin had absurdly claimed the thread was too weak when he tried to pull it through the material, and she had blamed the entire fiasco on his impatience.

Needless to say, following several heated debates on the necessity of the skill, and after thoroughly exhausting the topic, Obi-wan had let the matter slide. In the grand scheme of things, there were more important lessons to be imparted. Anakin would just have to hope there was a good maintenance droid nearby.

Pondering Anakin's inaptitude for rudimentary clothing repairs, brings him to the forefront of her mind. Her former apprentice had been assigned to the military task force stationed in the Balmorra system. Being tied up with the battle group sent to liberate Ordu 9 from Separatist occupation, she's not had any contact with him for a month. The operation was a success, and Obi-wan had been recalled to Coruscant on stand-by for her next deployment.

Now that she's in limbo, waiting for her next mission, Obi-wan finds herself thinking about Anakin's well-being. Though it's completely ill-advised for a Jedi, she almost _worries_ for her former apprentice while he's away on campaign, all too painfully aware of Anakin's tendency for rash behaviour. Anakin can be rather... _unpredictable_ even at the best of times. It's hard not to feel sympathy for the officers under Anakin's command. Thirteen years of close-acquaintance with the headstrong young Jedi has taught her how to manage or at least minimise the potential repercussions of Anakin's impulsive nature. Obi-wan can safely say that any commanding officer serving underneath Anakin has their work cut out for them.

Momentarily pausing in her stitching, Obi-wan peers up at the night sky, and the glistening stars. Somewhere among those stars, Anakin is out there facing down a hostile enemy, and she will most likely be off-world when he returns home to the temple. A shame really, it would've been nice to see him before she leaves, to have solid evidence that he's unharmed. If wishes were speeders...

A light stirring in the Force draws her out of her reverie, and Obi-wan turns her head to see a large figure approach. A _very_ familiar figure.

 _Anakin_.

Unexpected relief wells in her being at the sight of Anakin sauntering down the artistically cobbled pathway through the gardens. The strength of it astounds Obi-wan.

And yet she cannot deny she feels more at ease. Wishes _are_ speeders it seems.

Anakin comes to stand before the bench she occupies, and she glances up as his silhouette eclipses her view. His hands are folded into the voluminous sleeves of his cloak, his expression is impassive, but his vivid blue eyes shine in the torch light, and his tanned cheeks are flushed. All in all he appears to be in good health. Whether he's in good spirits however remains to be seen.

Anakin's Force signature feels calm, no threads of any intense or fiery emotions which are usually centred around his aura. It makes for a pleasant change, albeit a strange one. She's never seen him quite so self-contained.

"I admit I never expected to find you up here, of all places," Anakin says, breaking the lengthy silence.

"You are in good health I trust?" she asks politely.

Anakin frowns at her inquiry, no answer forthcoming. "What's brought you up here?" he asks, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I like the tranquillity," she says simply.

"Mind if I join you then?"

Wordlessly she scoots over, and Anakin seats himself on the bench beside her, his huge frame occupying most of the available bench space.

"Having any luck with that?" Anakin quips.

Obi-wan looks down at the needle in her hands and the cloak draped across her lap, before meeting his clear blue gaze once more.

"More luck than you ever did with a needle and thread," she remarks.

Anakin bristles. "I don't understand why you don't just let the maintenance droids fix it," he says.

"Laziness is unbefitting for a Jedi," Obi-wan reminds him.

"It's not a matter of laziness it's a matter of time," Anakin retorts.

"Yes well luckily, I have some time to spare," she says drily.

She glances down at the idle needle in her hand, and resuming her stitching, pricks the cloaks hem, pulling the thread through the material.

"When did you get back?" Anakin asks.

"A day ago and yourself? Here I was thinking you would still be in the Balmorra system," she says, not looking up from her stitches.

"I arrived on-world this evening, I had just finished filing my report to Jedi Command, before I came to find you. The mission was a success. Those separatist scum won't be getting anywhere near Balmorra, any time soon," Anakin explains.

Before Obi-wan can open her mouth to reply, she involuntarily shivers. Despite the heating units installed into the Temple walls, the nights chill creeps into her bones. She has the Force to help regulate her body temperature, but the ability requires intense focus on the individual's part in order to implement technique. Right now Obi-wan's focus is needed elsewhere. Sewing is not exactly her area of expertise.

Bearing the cold in mind, Obi-wan continues stitching up the frayed hem with renewed vigour. Stitching, like lightsaber forms, follows a certain pattern. Pierce the underside of the material, pull the thread through, and repeat the action with the opposite side of the fabric. All the while, as she stitches, she feels Anakin watching her, no doubtlessly expecting her to uphold the conversation. Well, unfortunately for Anakin she did not come outside to have a conversation, and is a little preoccupied at the moment.

"You are cold," Anakin says after a time.

Obi-wan, pausing in her stitching once more, casts him a sidelong bemused glance. Why he insists on stating the obvious is beyond her. Just as she's about to recommence her sewing,she feels a sudden warm and heavy weight on her shoulders. Obi-wan's head whirls to see Anakin has shifted himself closer into her vicinity, and his large forearm arm, adorned in the voluminous sleeve of a dark cloak, is draped objectionably around her shoulders. 

"Anakin!" she protests.

"Yes Master?" Anakin asks innocently.

"Would you kindly remove your arm from my shoulder?" she demands.

"Of course," Anakin says, keeping his unwelcome arm over her shoulders.

" _Now_?" she insists, not bothering to hide her irritation.

Anakin's lips twitch. "Not yet," he states.

"And why not?" she challenges.

Trickles of Anakin's amusement leak into the Living Force, at odds with his impassive facial expression. He's enjoying this a little too much for her liking. Anakin's penchant for juvenile behaviour never ceases to amaze her.

"Because you would be cold," Anakin replies unabashed.

Obi-wan's knuckles are white from clutching her cloak too tightly. "Anakin," she warns. Does he ever consider the consequences of his actions? If another Jedi entered the gardens right now...she shudders merely thinking about the repercussions. Disaster would not even begin to cover the mess that would follow.

She tries to shuffle away, but Anakin's grip on her shoulder is unrelenting. When she scoots further along the bench, Anakin merely follows, still enveloping her shoulders with his arm. Eventually she is forced to halt at the benches edge, to avoid slipping off the side.

"Anakin! This is entirely inappropriate! Let go, if someone sees..."

"Then you better finish you're stitching," Anakin tells her smugly.

Obi-wan scowls as Anakin gives her a shameless grin.

"Anakin sometimes I swear..." she trails off, knowing any effort to reprimand the young Jedi will be for naught.

"Swear what?" Anakin prompts. The cockiness simply _oozes_ out of him. She hears it in his voice, senses it in his Force aura. Obi-wan finds it almost hard to believe, that only ten minutes prior, she had been ruminating on the possibility of _missing_ him.

"Never mind," she dismisses.

Lectures are pointless. Anakin's arm will remain stubbornly in place until she either finishes repairing her cloak or departs from the gardens. A Jedi should not be so prideful and yet Obi-wan, for the life of her is unwilling to take the moral high ground and simply leave.

If Anakin wishes to wait for her, he is welcome to. She will stay here and finish what she's started. At her _own pace_.

For who knows, Anakin might even learn patience. Catching her line of thought, Obi-wan resists the uncharacteristic urge to snort. Anakin will learn patience when banthas learn to fly.

At least she's not so cold anymore. She grudgingly admits her former apprentice is rather effective at deterring the nights chill (not that she condones his method).

And deep down, she doesn't quite mind Anakin's company. While he's present with her, he's not out there in the field. It means she doesn't have to be monopolised by concern for his well-being. For now anyways.

She knows they will be sent off to war again soon, either together or alone. As Jedi, it's their duty and their lot in life. They accept it. Embrace it. Nothing more is acceptable.

But in this moment, with the stars glistening overhead, and Anakin by her side, whole and healthy, she is content.

For one never knows what tomorrow will bring.


End file.
